Just remembered

  As a person that write something nearly every day it caught my attention that the president of Harvard has been accused of plagiarism. I listened as the person she plagiarized explained that if that had been done by a white guy there would be a big uproar. She didn't seem to upset by that herself just pointing out a bit of hypocrisy. Later in the story it was noted that Harvard says she didn't really plagiarize anyone. It was simply a lack of proper citation. So really, it's like you didn't steal that car you just forgot to pay for it. The woman clearly copied some of the others work, her words, exactly. That is defined as plagiarism. I know, I looked it up. " the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own:" That's the definition I got. And she did do that, she just forgot to tell others the idea wasn't hers. She received her PhD in Political Science.

  Now I'm not writing a thesis or a dissertation for a PhD. Still, I often check my writings and ramblings and attempt to give credit where credit is due. I'm surprised at times at how close some of my thoughts and ideas come to others, even years in the past that I never heard about. But then again, I have said it many times and believe it to be the truth, there is little you can say that hasn't been said before. I figure as long as I'm not attempting to gain anything from what I'm writing other than sharing my opinions, thoughts or ideas, it's alright if I accidently "plagiarize" someone. If I decided to publish any of that for profit, I would certainly have to check a lot closer to make sure I'm not stealing someone else's work. I can see it happening with some small detail or quote, not remembering where I heard or read that. I do think it would have to be more of a conscious effort if I were writing my thesis. As I understand it, it takes years of research and study before you can even begin that process.

  As I listened to that story all I heard was a lawyer. Well, she didn't plagiarize anyone, she just didn't cite the person that she didn't plagiarize. Same reasoning as yes, this woman is pregnant but she's not going to have a baby. It's not a baby until it is born. And this person is a president at Harvard. They do have quite a good law department, no denying that. And what is the job of a good lawyer? To defend their clients is the answer. It's true that sometimes the innocent need defending, but by far the guilty need that attorney far more often! In fact, every time they break the law. She has an entire law department at her disposal and those learning the law as well. Seems clear to me that she is guilty. She doesn't deny that she used those works, those ideas or those words from the other person. Should she be excused for that because, well, oops I forgot to cite that? Aren't citations integral to the dissertation? Guess they will be optional in the future. Can always just add them in later on, you know, after you get that Doctorate, the job, the position you want. I'll give the money back after I make a few million, my bad, forget to mention that I stole it! 

  Now I'll say that if anyone really wanted to, they could most likely find something, or a few somethings in my writings that could be called plagiarized. I don't know why anyone would other than to discredit me in some fashion but that's unlikely as what is there to gain? It's fairly easy to do these days with all the online plagiarism checkers available. I've used a couple myself. Why are they upset with this Harvard president for plagiarism. It's because of her recent remarks to Congress on what hate speech is and what students are allowed or not allowed to say. The discovery of plagiarized portions of her dissertation is fuel to get her fired from that position. 

 It isn't the first time that has been noted but the first time her resignation has been called for over that discovery. The reason isn't important to me, the action is. It's my belief she plagiarized another author and is guilty as charged. It wasn't accidental, she didn't just forget, not a simple omission. She tried to take credit for it! Seems to me if you were that educated you could have found a way to rephrase whatever the other person had written to express the same idea in a different way. As I said I believe there is little you can say that hasn't been said before. The only trick is in saying it in a way that others haven't heard it before. She should be ashamed of herself and resign in disgrace. If allowed to get away with this, what message is being sent? 

 The world of academia. An exclusive group that believes themselves to be highly educated, somehow far more intelligent than the general population, entitled to rule over overs and make the big decisions. A group held to the highest standards of academic excellence. Aloof in their ivory towers they "explain" the world to the rest of us. Harvard University, the very best. And its' president stole her degree from another. Her excuse, I forgot. The big question is all of this is who checked that paper in the first place? How did that manage to slip through. Shouldn't someone have been smart enough to catch that? Makes me question the whole deal. Her degree was issued in 1997. Twenty-six years later it is finally noticed. She just remembered herself! Yeah, sounds like a reasonable defense to me.